Disclaimer: I do not own ThunderCats! If I did, Cheetara would have ended up with Lion-O!
ThunderCats: Sword of Kings
Chapter II: The Clerics
"Hurry up with the clean up!" Panthro's booming voice echoed throughout the Ring. "I want this place spotless before we open up for tonight."
Lion-O watched as the attendants scrubbed the arena floor and swept the stands as he followed Panthro in their silent inspection. The arena tended to be slightly covered in sweat and some blood after a fight (and with good reason), which made it hard to keep clean.
"I have something special planned tonight for you, Lion-O," the old panther said enthusiastically. "I heard about these twin dogs that make an excellent tag-team duo, so you'll be fighting both of them tonight."
Lion-O didn't even hear the words being said to him. His thoughts were still on the strange cheetah girl that tried to barge herself in his room two days ago. The young lion couldn't help but think back to what she said. "You're different than I thought you would be." What did she know? And who was she for that matter?
"I can picture it now," Panthro was saying. "'The reigning champ defending his title from the terrible twosome!' That will bring in a lot of spectators. Not to mention the load of coin they'll have." He had begun to notice that the young cat didn't seem to be listening. "Lion-O! Pay attention, this is important! I'm talking about our livelihood here!"
That seemed to snap Lion-O out of his thoughts. "Sorry," he said, "I had something on my mind."
"Like what?" Panthro asked. Nothing ever distracted Lion-O when they were talking about business. Something must be up.
Lion-O seemed hesitant; something Panthro also knew was not like the young lion. "It happened two days ago," he began, "after my match against Torr. This cheetah girl barged herself into my room. The weird thing was she seemed to know me. She said something about me being different than she thought I was."
Panthro said nothing at first, but Lion-O saw something in his mentor's eyes. "There was a Cleric here that night," he admitted. "The cheetah may have been that Cleric. She was watching you fight and then disappeared after the match was over."
That brought even more confusion to Lion-O, and a little worry, too. "A Cleric? Why would a Cleric be interested in me?"
Panthro closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he spoke. "Lion-O," he said, "I have raised you since you were a young cub, and in that time I have come to love you as if you were my own son." He turned away shamefully. "But there are many secrets that I have kept from you."
This surprised Lion-O. Panthro had never kept anything from him. "What kind of secrets?"
Panthro turned back and Lion-O saw a glint of sadness in his eyes. He sighed. "Lion-O…it all started when—"
"LION-O!"
"PANTHRO!"
The two cats turned to see WilyKat and WilyKit racing down the stands and into the arena. The two ThunderCat children managed to avoid colliding with the two older cats.
"What is it?" Lion-O asked. "Is something wrong?"
The twins were panting, their breathing labored. WilyKat spoke first. "Clerics…City Guard…"
WilyKit finished for him. "They're…heading this way!"
"WHAT?" both cats shouted at once.
"That's not all," WilyKat said. "They have General Grune with them!"
Lion-O felt his throat got dry. General Grune. Grune the Destroyer. Grune the Butcher. He was coming here. Everyone in Thundera knew who Grune was. Some say that he once slaughtered an entire contingent of lizards single-handedly with only his mace.
It took Panthro a second to respond to that. "Everyone listen up," his voice boomed, "we got Clerics and City Guard on the way! Drop everything and get out NOW!"
"That will not be necessary," an elderly voice called out.
Everyone turned to see three Clerics, four members of the City Guard, and Grune the Destroyer himself. Leading them was the eldest of the three Clerics was an old jaguar with a long white beard carrying a wooden staff. Next to him was Grune the Destroyer with full armor and his mace strapped to his back. Though Grune was a saber tooth, he seemed to have one of his fangs missing.
The old jaguar approached the four slowly with the assistance of his staff. He eyed the largest cat amongst them. "Hello, Panthro."
The panther nodded. "It's been a long time, Jaga."
"That's Lord Jaga to you traitor," Grune said, pointing menacingly at the large panther.
Lion-O saw a sarcastic grin appear on his mentor's face. "Grune, good to see you've managed to keep the other fang."
The general growled as he reached for his mace. "Calm down, Grune," Jaga reached out to the saber tooth, "we do not need to resort to violence."
"But Lord Jaga—" Grune began, but a stern glare from the elder Cleric silenced the Destroyer. This surprised Lion-O; he never would have expected a mighty general like Grune to be intimidated by an old cat.
Jaga turned toward the panther. "We can do this peacefully Panthro, but only if you give us your cooperation."
Panthro gave a growling sneer. "How's this for 'cooperation'!" He then took his nunchaku (which seemed to appear from nowhere) and lashed out at the old Cleric. Jaga gracefully evaded Panthro's attack. Grune then took his mace and began his attack. The saber tooth swung at a downward strike which Panthro evaded. Grune then faced the full on force of the panther's nunchaku to his face.
"Lion-O," Panthro called out, "take the kids and get out!"
The young lion grabbed both kittens and scrambled out of the arena. Jaga noted their retreat as the City Guard began their fight against Panthro. He motioned for one of the clerics. "Bring him to me, unharmed if you can."
"Yes, Lord Jaga," a feminine voice replied from behind the lion mask before the Cleric ran off after the lion.
Lion-O's mind raced as he ran down the hallways of the Ring with WilyKat and WilyKit in his arms. What was going on? Why would the Clerics be here? How did Panthro know the Head Cleric and Grune the Destroyer?
It wasn't long before they had reached the rear entrance. "Here," Lion-O said, placing the twins down, "we can get out through here." A whistling sound echoed through the halls. Lion-O kicked the door open. "You two go ahead, I'll keep whoever's coming busy."
"But, Lion-O—"
"We don't have time to argue. I promise, I will find you after this is over." Lion-O turned to see a Cleric that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "GO NOW!"
The kittens ran as the lion stayed to fight off the Cleric. Lion-O charged as he swung his fist…and watched as the Cleric seem to disappear, the whistle once again echoing through the halls. Lion-O stumbled for a bit, but managed to recover his footing.
Lion-O kept an eye out for the Cleric…and felt something strike his midsection as a golden blur ran past him. The fighting champion doubled over in pain, but he knew what he was fighting against. Somehow, this Cleric was able to run faster than all the cats in Thundera.
He heard the whistle again, and Lion-O prepared for what was coming next. He saw the yellow blur and reached out toward it. The lion caught the Cleric's Bo staff before it could make contact with his solar plexus. This caught the Cleric by surprise as Lion-O took the advantage.
The lion quickly kneed the Cleric in the gut and he heard a gasp of pain. That was when Lion-O wretched the staff from his opponents hands and struck the Cleric with the staff, knocking the lion mask off.
Lion-O gasped as he saw familiar golden hair and rust colored facial marks. "You!"
The cheetah girl took advantage of his shock. She performed a sweeping kick, knocking him off his feet and dropping the staff. Lion-O hit the floor as the cheetah caught her staff and gave a powerful strike to his forehead.
After that, Lion-O only knew the darkness of sleep.